Generally, a vertebral body replacement is inserted through an anterior incision, which is an invasive surgery requiring many tools. Typically, many organs and blood vessels must be maneuvered and disturbed to insert the vertebral body replacement between vertebral bodies. Further, physicians may be required to make another posterior incision to insert rods and pins to effectively lock the vertebral body replacement into place. Thus, many different tools may be required to insert, place, and lock vertebral body replacement into its desired position. Additional tools are typically required to manipulate expandable vertebral body replacements.
There remains a need for a multifunctional insertion instrument that can perform all of the requirements to insert, place, expand, and lock an expandable vertebral body replacement. Further, there remains a need for using an insertion instrument in a posterior procedure, which is less invasive than an anterior procedure, to place a vertebral body replacement by insertion between nerve roots and behind the spinal cord.